Monthly Archives: August 2012

LIVING IN BELIZE – “Speed Bumps & Shoe Covers“ 8/31/12

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I was talking to a recent arrival in Belize, and he mentioned how annoying he found the speed bumps in Placencia.  I reminded him we have quite a few of them on the Western Highway leading to San Ignacio as well.  He said he’d rather see stop signs than speed bumps.

I explained to him that I didn’t think that would really work, since people would just ignore the stop signs. He didn’t understand why they would do that, so I explained that there are no traffic police monitoring anything in Belize.

No one is hiding in the bushes with a radar gun, so people usually drive whatever speed they want. Even when you do see traffic lights in Belize City, if no one is at the intersection and it’s a red light, you can just go through it, because you won’t get a ticket.  The same thing for stop signs.  We have a five way intersection in downtown San Ignacio, and the traffic police do stand there at the corner, but if no one is coming to yield to, people just roll right through, and the cops do nothing. The rule at that corner is first come, first serve – that’s how you know whether to go or not.

So stop signs are basically ineffective because they aren’t monitored and you aren’t penalized for disobeying. On the other hand, speed bumps are a perfect solution, because unless you want to ruin your car, you have to slow down at least somewhat for those. They are a way of regulating speed without needing personnel. So I really don’t think you’ll see them going anywhere any time soon.

This morning on my walk I saw the cutest thing. Two high school age girls were walking down a very muddy path, presumably from their home, to the highway to catch the bus.  It rained something awful last night, so the road was quite muddy. When I looked at their feet, I saw they had covered their shoes with the plastic bags you get at the market.

What a great idea! I’ve always felt sorry for the locals who live on dirt roads and don’t have cars. Some of the puddles and mud they have to deal with walking to and from work or school in their nice shoes every day is horrible.  Sometimes when I get home from my walk after a rain, my tennis shoes are caked in mud. I often wonder how you deal with that, showing up to school or work with a platform heel of mud!

Since those stupid bags are given out every time you buy anything (even one item), people usually have a ton of them at home, so it’s great to see them repurposed. And in case you’re wondering, no, I’ve never seen shoe covers sold here in Belize, nor do you often see people wearing rain boots, except for some field workers.

What do you prefer – a stop sign or a speed bump?

LIVING IN BELIZE – “Guatemala Dentist Trip“ 8/30/12

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Yesterday Nige, his mom, and I took a trip over the border to Melchor, Guatemala.  Nige’s upper wisdom tooth has been hurting him for quite a while, but he was too ashamed to tell me (Belizean men and their pride). What really concerned me was why the dentist we went to for our fillings here in San Ignacio Town didn’t notice it – she really should have, since he said it’s had puss in it for quite some time. So Nige’s mom has a great dentist in Melchor and said we should go see him. Off we went.

This time, we decided to drive over the border instead of walking. I have been speaking to a lot of Belizeans lately, and they say driving over is perfectly safe, and they haven’t encountered any problem at all doing it lately. One lady even drove to El Salvador without incident.

To cross the border, first you must stand in line at Belize Immigration. I presented my passport and QRP card and was waived through with no exit fees, which is what has happened every time I have crossed.  Then you go pay $6 bze ($3 usd) on the Guatemala side, and they give you a little registration card for your vehicle that you show when entering back into Belize. Next, you go stand in line at the Guatemala Immigration, and finally, you are in!!

Immediately upon entering Guatemala, you will be bombarded by taxi drivers and money changers (yesterday they were giving $3.60 quetzal for every $1 bze dollar).  Nige’s mom’s dentist, however, takes Belize dollars, so we didn’t change any money.

Upon reaching the dentist office, we had the bad luck to find out that he had just left town and wouldn’t be back until Sunday. Luckily, she had a back up dentist, right down the street, and they had availability for Nige in about an hour.

So we drove around town for a little while, just to kill time and see the sights.  The local “mercado,” or market, is right there, and is a place a lot of Belizeans (and expats) go shopping for clothes, house hold goods, and school supplies. Things are much cheaper in Guatemala, and better quality.

We started to get hungry, so we went to a cantina across the street from the dentist. Nige needed to eat anyway since he wouldn’t be able to do so for about 24 hours after getting his tooth pulled.  We took advantage of being in Guatemala and had some Mexican beer (you can’t import it into Belize, so we almost never get to drink it).

Pretty soon, it was time for Nige’s appointment. It didn’t take too long, and $300 Q later ($83 bze or $41 usd), Nige had one less wisdom tooth. By the way, that price included pain killers and anti-biotics – amazing!

 So now I’m nursing my poor little baby back to health since he’s in major discomfort, can’t eat or drink anything hot or too firm, and basically feels like crap! He was pretty strong through the whole thing though – I think I would have been a much bigger baby!!

Have you ever had a tooth pulled in a foreign country?

LIVING IN BELIZE – “X-rays, Iced Coffee & People Watching“ 8/29/12

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Unfortunately I woke up yesterday still not feeling well, but we had business to attend to, so I couldn’t lie around the house any longer. Nige dropped me off on Burns Avenue, while he had to head over to Santa Elena and pick up his grandmother, who is not feeling well.

She’s been having bad chest pains, and the doctors think it is her lungs, so they sent her for x-rays. So Nige had to take her to Loma Luz Hospital, a privately run facility, and get those. They gave her a 10% Senior Citizen discount so it cost $32.00 bze ($16 usd) for her x-rays.  Then he had to drive her to San Ignacio Hospital, a government run facility, to show them to the doctor.  We should know the results soon.

While he was doing that, I stopped in and said hi to one of our clients and went over some questions he had.  That didn’t take as long as I thought it would, so I had quite a bit of time to kill. Since I still wasn’t feeling great, I wanted to go relax somewhere in the shade. I decided to head to the coffee shop on Burns Avenue, simply named “Espresso.”

I ordered an Iced Coffee, because they serve it with milk, and milk always soothes my stomach when I’m not feeling well. I love the way they serve it here – so fancy. And the vinegar bottle that the milk comes in kind of cracks me up.

When she first served me, the metal cup was completely full, so I had to ask her where I was supposed to put the milk? She just smiled and brought me another metal cup, so I could mix my drink properly (she must be new!).

Anyway, I sat in the second story coffee shop, perched above Burns Avenue, sipping my iced coffee and watching the people and cars go by.  At one point, a Guatemalan mother and her two children appeared across the street and hunkered down in the shade to eat some street food they had bought.  It was a big bag of craboo apples – not my favorite thing in Belize at all – far too sour for me. But they sat there for a good half an hour, eating, until they decided it was time to move on. I always get a kick out of how “not” in a hurry people in Belize are. Such a refreshing change from where I came from.

 

Pretty soon, Nige came and picked me up.  We showed a rental property to a prospective tenant at Framadani Villas. Pictures just can’t do this place justice. Every time I’m there, I feel transported to a different time and place. It really does have more of a European feel than Belizean.

After that, we headed home and his mom and sis came over for a swim in the river, while I went back to bed! Bummer, I know, but I do feel much better today.

 Do you like to sit and people watch?

LIVING IN BELIZE – “Food Poisoning & Guacamole“ 8/28/12

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Well following the high of a wonderful birthday, the two days afterwards have been a real bummer. Early Sunday morning I woke up to a very sick stomach, with all the glorious side effects that go with that. At first, I just figured it was because I had indulged a bit too much in good food and drink the day before.

But as the day wore on, all the classic signs of food poisoning were there.  It dawned on me that I made a rookie move at Chaa Creek and ordered my cheeseburger medium rare! I don’t know what I was thinking.  Maybe I thought I was still in Texas, but in Belize, you always order your beef medium to medium well – period (this is why I rarely eat filet mignons in Belize, even though I can get them, because I like mine rare, and that’s too dangerous).

If you’re wondering why, it’s because there are no health codes here. No health department employee is going to come inspect the kitchen of any restaurant in Belize.  So it’s too easy for meat to be stored in improper temperatures or defrosted incorrectly, causing meat to spoil or develop bacteria. So you have to cook meat thoroughly!

Even though Chaa Creek is a high end establishment, immediately after eating that burger, both Nige and I didn’t feel well. We felt like we had lead weights in our stomach. I couldn’t eat the rest of the night. That’s why I’m pretty certain it was food poisoning and not the regular flu.

However, just like the only other time I’ve ever gotten food poisoning in Belize from some nachos we ate at Lily’s Treasure Chest in San Pedro, Nige didn’t get sick, but I did. I’m sure his Belizean stomach is heartier than mine.

In any case, I’ve spent the last two days home in bed or on the couch, not too far from the bathroom, if you get my meaning. What a bummer. So yesterday, not having much of an appetite, but needing to eat because my stomach was growling, I decided to make guacamole.

First, because the smooth texture of avocados, and the fact that they’re not too spicy or acidic, sounded like it wouldn’t upset my stomach too much. Also, because we had two “pia’s,” as the locals call them, about to spoil. And lastly, because Nige has never tried my guacamole, and I do a pretty darn good one, I must say (my secret ingredient – sour cream).

So we sat on the verandah and that was our lunch – chips and guacamole. While eating, the toucans came to visit again. This time, a much smaller flock than the last. We didn’t snap any picks, but these looked to be pretty young in age.

I’m still not 100% better today, but I have work to do, so I’m just going to have to suck it up and get out there. Have you ever had food poisoning? If so, how do you think you got it?

LIVING IN BELIZE – “Happy Birthday to Me!!“ 8/27/12

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Saturday was my birthday! My second in Belize – time certainly does fly.  I woke up to a wrapped present on the dining room table. Nige had got me a really good mystery book, the genre I love reading the most; and a very pretty bracelet with stars and moons on it, another one of my favorite things, as evidenced by my two tattoos which incorporate them into the design.

After a quick run to the Saturday market, we packed a bag and drove up to Chaa Creek, located about 15 minutes in the hills from our house.  It has been so bloody hot, I just want to go somewhere that I could swim and pamper myself in luxury. Chaa Creek is just the place to do that!

The grounds alone are quite stunning! They have meandering paths full of lush and verdant tropical plants, tall palms, and loads of iguanas running around. As their logo shows too, they are quite well known for the Morpho butterfly, a blue beauty that is prevalent here.

Since we hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, first stop was brunch at their outdoor restaurant off the main bar, which is a dining area set into a forested enclave. We decided to share a Hawaiian pizza with pepperoni (Nige needs his meat, and they don’t serve their Hawaiian with ham, just pineapple).  We devoured that and then headed over to the pool area, our main destination.

Had we wanted to do something else, however, there were tons of options for us. We could have gone on a hike on the Maya medicinal plant trail; or had a massage at the spa located riverside; or taken a horseback ride. Unlike most resorts in the States, you don’t have to be a guest here to take advantage of all their perks-that’s smart business in my book, because after what we spent there lounging around by the pool, it would be silly on their part to turn away paying customers who want to enjoy the atmosphere they have created.

 

Speaking of the pool, it is really quite beautiful. They surfaced it in small 1” tiles that are different shades of iridescent blue, purple, yellow and silver. It’s a true infinity pool too, and the views just lounging on the ledge of it are stunning.

So I got my birthday wish, and lounged my day away, sipping pina coladas and doing absolutely nothing. We took our laptop and were able to catch wifi, but don’t plan on using your cell phone there since you won’t find a signal.  If you do go, be aware – the prices here are much, much higher than you’ll find in town. For instance, a Belikin beer is $4 USD, compared to $1.65 at most bars in San Ignacio.  They were selling garnaches and salbutes for $7 USD, when you can get the same quantity in town for $.50!!

As a local, it does make it a little hard to swallow those prices when you know how large of a markup there is, but when you go to one of the top-end resorts, you just need to suck it up and be prepared, or just don’t go.

At the end of my day, I felt like I did everything just the way I wanted to and had a perfect birthday!  It’s hard for me to explain how blessed I feel to live in this gorgeous country that people pay thousands of dollars to vacation in and have it all at my doorstep. I’m living the dream for sure!

LIVING IN BELIZE – “Road Kill & Town Versus Country Living“ 8/24/12

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Well yesterday my morning walk went off without a hitch – no rain in sight.  I must confess, the only thing I don’t like about walking in the area I live (Bullet Tree Falls Village) is all the road kill I see now. 

Before, when I lived in San Ignacio proper (three miles east of where I am now), I hardly ever saw any of that stuff. Obviously, San Ignacio is much more populated and therefore has less “critters” roaming the roads or neighborhoods.  But in Bullet Tree, it’s very spread out, with lots of land and creeks for animals to live in.

A lot of the unimproved land is right on the highway, which I walk on three days a week (the other three days I go back in the hills and explore), and since that is the main route for all buses, taxis, and other vehicles to and from San Ignacio to Bullet Tree, of course a lot of those critters get hit and killed. I always hate it when I see one coming up in the road, because there’s really no way to avoid looking at it, and it just gags me.

As you all know by now, I am not a country girl. This city girl does not like to see dead animals at all!! One of these days I’m going to toughen up, but until then, I just turn my head as far to the left or right as I can, speed up my pace, and get past it as fast as possible.

Yesterday one of my Wealth Ship Expat Relocation Consulting clients checked in to the Kumquat Cottage for a one-month stay.  He’s moving here from the States, and wanted a nice, central home base to look for a permanent rental from. We advertise the cottage as being “a hop, skip and a jump” from downtown San Ignacio, and it certainly is. I think he’ll like the location a lot for convenience.

I did tell him, however, to pay attention to how he liked “in-town” living. It’s not for everyone. While it’s great to be close to everything like banking, shopping, restaurants, and bars, on a day-to-day basis, some might find it a little too loud or compact. For those that prefer wide open spaces or peace and quiet most of the time, on weekends especially, that can be hard to find.

I let him know he will be here in September, Belize’s Independence month, and they literally celebrate all month long! Upside is he’ll be close to all the festivities that get held downtown (parades, bands, talent shows, etc.). The downside is he may hear the noise from time to time and get sick of it. We’ll see – everyone is different.

Are you more of a quiet, country type? Or do you thrive on being close to the action?

LIVING IN BELIZE – “Rain Rescue & A Neighborly Lunch“ 8/23/12

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Yesterday it was already sprinkling when I headed out for my walk, but come hell or high water (no pun intended), I was going to do it no matter what.  Over half way through, though, it really started pouring.

With only about ten minutes to go (I walk for an hour), I saw our Chevy Tracker heading towards me. It was Nige – he knew I was on my walk and he got concerned I was getting drenched, so he came to rescue me. Awww, how sweet! I’ve never had anyone worry about me the way he does. I’m a very lucky girl!

After I dried off and got my morning office work out of the way, the weather took a turn for the better and the sun did come out. I was glad it did, because I had a get together planned with a local gal. Her and I have been trying to plan this for what seems like ages, and for one reason or another, it just never happened, so I was glad we were finally doing it.

She lives in Bullet Tree Falls Village too, so I made the quick drive over to her house.  It is a very large property (two acres), and she took me on a foot tour of it. There are two ponds, tons of trees and plants, and she’s on the river. 

They actually converted their old shipping container when they moved here five years ago into the bedroom and bath on one side of their house. I thought that was so clever, but apparently, it’s not that uncommon! The bathroom is neat because they made the ceiling see through, so it gets great light.

Barbara thought it would be fun to invite another local gal over, who I only knew slightly from the monthly women group meetings I went to. This gal, Dina, and I had so much in common, it was scary. By the end of our get together, I was calling her my soul sister. It’s so funny how things like that work out.

In any case, we spent the afternoon chatting. Barbara, who is quite the cook, made some tasty chicken salad sandwiches on homemade bread and a broccoli and bacon salad that was very good! She also treated us to chocolate chip cookies and lemon poppy seed cake – also homemade. It’s a darn good thing I did walk this morning!

Pretty soon, 2 ½ hours sped by and I needed to get going, sadly. Not sure where the time went, but that’s what happens when you’re having a great time!

When’s the last time you hung out with some of your neighbors?

LIVING IN BELIZE – “Cayo Welcome Center, Back-to-School & Knock Off Brands“ 8/22/12

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The other day while standing in line at the ATM in down town San Ignacio, I realized I hadn’t been by the new Cayo Welcome Center lately to see what kind of progress they were making.

You may remember me blogging about this quite a while ago.  It’s a sustainable tourism project, but also a town beautification and traffic improvement one as well.  By the sounds of it, it will be a vast improvement over what was there previously, although I still wish they could have left the old fountain from Coronation Park, the site of the new center, intact somehow as a historic monument of sorts – it had been there forever!

Anyway, it is progressing nicely, but just as I had predicted, it’s nowhere near finished for the August deadline.  But I’m sure it will be before the actual high tourist season begins in November.

Right next door, I also noticed what could only be called a “Back-to-School” sale in Belize, without all the fan fare and promotion you might find in the States.

Last weekend when Nige and I were driving to our Belmopan house for rent for a showing appointment, in three different villages there were students standing in the middle of the highway with signs asking for donations for their school supplies. Nige says it can cost almost $300 bze ($150 usd) per student to buy your books and supplies every school year.

That seems insane to me, when you consider how little most families make each week. If they have several children, I’m just not sure how they do it.  So we tried to do our part and put a little something in the can at each stop – I’m sure every little bit helps.

Yesterday the rains came back, hard!!  Nige has been under the weather with a cold.  He bought some cold pills and showed them to me and asked if they were good.  I told him, “Tylenol is a very reputable brand. I’m sure they’re fine.”

He laughed and said, “Those aren’t Tylenol.”  I took a closer look, and damn, he was right! I was totally fooled.  This is not uncommon. They have “knock-off” brands, as I call them, all over the place here.  In the States you would get sued, but here it’s totally tolerated.  Besides, normally the brand they are knocking off isn’t even sold here, so there’s not a lot of harm being done.

If you have any good knock off brand stories or photos, feel free to post them in comments and share with others!

LIVING IN BELIZE – “Swim Day in Bullet Tree“ 8/21/12

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Over last weekend, I had one of the most fun days I think I’ve ever had here in Belize (and I’ve had a lot).  A local couple in Bullet Tree, who are also our house sitting clients, had kind of gone MIA on us for the last several months. One of the reasons was because the wife had flown back to Canada, their native country, to spend a month with her daughter.

But the bigger reason was because they decided to build a pool in their yard.  They have a gorgeous two-acre parcel of land, that frankly, they had already done a pretty good job of landscaping. It is one of Nige and I’s favorite gigs when we get to house sit for them, due to the yard and their cute little dog, that I would take home if I could.

So it seemed hard to imagine improving much on what they already had – boy were we wrong!  They invited us over for a bbq and swim day. Told us just to bring our suits, and they had everything else covered. When we arrived and came through the gate, we were stunned (sorry folks, but at the risk of never getting invited to any of my friends’ homes again, I don’t post pics of their properties-sure you can understand).

First of all, the position of the pool was completely different than they had described to us originally.  Second, they had installed a raised deck. And lastly, the best part, was they actually raised the walls of the pool over the deck about a foot. The effect is beautiful, and the best part is when you are in the pool, it kind of feels like you are one with the gorgeous mountains that serve as a backdrop to their property.

The first thing I noticed, however, was the lovely patio set they had. I immediately asked them where on earth did they find it, since I have never seen one for sale my entire time in Belize. They admitted it was quite a find, and they located it at a hardware store, of all places, in Spanish Lookout. They paid a little over $700 USD, which ain’t bad folks, if you factor in custom duties, since clearly this was imported.

So we sat down in the comfy chairs under the umbrella, chatted, swam, had some great drinks (they had some Grey Goose, Sharon’s favorite – I was a happy girl!), and the husband cooked the best ribs I’ve had in a long time.

It was so fun spending a day with friends, cooling down in their gorgeous pool, and eating and drinking like kings and queens.  I feel so blessed to be able to live somewhere that everyone is so giving and friendly, and almost all of us are just happy to be in Belize living this blessed life.

How much do patio sets costs where you live?

LIVING IN BELIZE – “Chiropractors in San Ignacio Town & Cheap Restaurant Prices“ 8/20/12

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Friday my day started out pretty nice, with an 11:00 a.m. chiropractic appointment.  I have been a patient of chiropractic since the mid 90’s, when an old whiplash injury I experienced at 18 decided to start flaring up and giving me horrible neck and shoulder pain. Being a slave to the computer in every job or business I’ve ever had hasn’t helped much either.

When I first moved to Belize, I settled in San Pedro on the island of Ambergris Caye.  I was lucky enough to be introduced almost immediately to a resident chiropractor there named David, who simply goes by the name “Doc.”  He charged $50 bze ($25 usd) per visit, and most times my adjustments were right on his front porch, on the beach, overlooking the ocean! How cool is that?

When I moved to San Ignacio in the Cayo District in early 2011, however, I never could find another chiropractor here locally.  Well, my prayers have been answered, and Susan and Randy Barnes moved here a short while ago, and they are Eastern chiropractic practitioners. 

Now, for $75 bze ($37.50 usd), I get four hand adjustments. It’s actually more of a combination of an adjustment, massage, and reflexology, all rolled into one session. By the end of the session, which I’ve had two now and generally last an hour, I feel like a new person.  My plan now is to rotate weekly my adjustments with my massages, because I really love both and think my body needs, and more importantly, deserves both! If you want to contact Susan or Randy, their number is 623-0241 and their email is drsus29@gmail.com.

After that, Nige picked me up and we ran over to Meluchi’s to see Roberto, the manager there and DJ extraordinaire!  He had been the one handling the Cayo Women’s group lunch the day before, and I forgot to bring any cash with me, not realizing they don’t accept debit cards.  Well he knows us pretty well, so he just told me to drop it by when I could. Love that kind of small town trust – which is basically non-existent where I come from.

We had lunch after that at Ceneida’s.  This is our second time there, and I still can’t get over how good their food is and cheap their prices are.  For $9 bze ($4.50 usd) I had grilled whole fish, coconut rice and beans, and a salad. After coming back from Texas and spending $35 USD on breakfast for three, I’m so happy to be back to my low, low prices in Cayo.

Do you make it a habit to pamper yourself and get an adjustment, massage or pedicure every week?